Nissan Leaf Test Drive Tour Reports (Oct 1-3)

[TomT]

I, too, will be looking for something similar. Perhaps some kind of sheepskin or vest design like I have on our MDX...

Tom

To protect the seats/fabric, I'm considering using thin seat cushions (won't interfere with side airbags), unless someone has a better idea.

 

[prberg]

The fabric isn't a huge deal to me, but I wish it was a darker color or more durable. I have a Prius and mine does show quite a bit of dirt (mainly on the armrests) and I have tried to clean it and haven't had much success.

Well you can't win them all. I hope the seats are at least comfortable (the Prius ones are not for me).

-Peter

 

[DaveEV]

Wow - interesting to say that he felt the Leaf left less safe than his Prius and RAV4-EV.

Because that doesn't make any logical sense at all.

I've driven/ridden in the same gen RAV4 as his EV - it was skittish, loud and tinny feeling. Doors felt hollow. Poor handling which did not inspire confidence - especially on the freeway. Overall feeling was similar to most entry level vehicles.

The Prius (own a 2008) at 3000 lbs feels solid and safe to me. Doors feel solid, but visibility is lacking a bit, especially around the thick A pillars and sometimes out the rear. Biggest complaint is that the engine is sometimes slow/awkward to respond if you are aggressive/quick with the throttle and that traction control kicks in too aggressively if one of the front tires loses traction under acceleration. It's no Lexus or Mercedes Benz - but then it's half the cost of those cars. It generally feels about what you'd expect a mid-level car to feel like.

I expect the Leaf to feel very similar to the Prius - except quieter and will have no engine to worry about spinning up when you need full power in a hurry.

To say that the Leaf felt like a Versa and would die in it - well - I suspect he has some other bias clouding his judgement. If he thinks that sitting high makes him feel safer - how does then a Volt (which has a lower seating position than the Leaf) inspire confidence?

The Leaf is no lightweight, either at 3500 lbs. That's fully mid-large size car weight there (Toyota Avalon weighs about the same, for example).

 

[mwalsh]

I thought the front seats to be very comfortable. The rear bench was quite a bit bench like - the backrest was quite flat and a bit stiff. Though I did like the stadium seating elevated feel. But since hardly anyone will ever be back there, I'm not worried about it.

 

[hill]

At least one person was not so impressed with the car during the AltCar Expo, mostly because it's an EV econobox.

http://voltaday.com/2010/10/03/leaf/

It's a Volt site. What ... you'd expect something else from a GM Fan base? Those are the folks hoping their stock will someday be worth more than a buck ... and that the company doesn't go bankrupt again. Watch most GM commercials and you find 'em primarily pushing their land barges, with little thought of their other products ... as though we were't importing over 1/2 of our oil from countries that want to destroy us (shaking head)
:lol:
.

 

[TomT]

I would second these comments. I found the front seats very comfortable for me and my wife. There are just two of us so the back seats are not really a consideration for us though they felt adequately comfortable on the trip around the block.

Tom

I thought the front seats to be very comfortable. The rear bench was quite a bit bench like - the backrest was quite flat and a bit stiff. Though I did like the stadium seating elevated feel. But since hardly anyone will ever be back there, I'm not worried about it.

 

[SanDust]

It's a Volt site. What ... you'd expect something else from a GM Fan base? Those are the folks hoping their stock will someday be worth more than a buck ... and that the company doesn't go bankrupt again.

This isn't very helpful. Someone has a different opinion than you do and he's a paid hack. Really? This guy has far more experience with EVs than you do and a lot more credibility. He's more Chelsea Sexton than anything, which is why GM asked him to be on the Volt Car Advisory Board along with her. Next you'll be saying that she's biased and paid hack also.

Plus he doesn't run a fan site. He's just blogging about his experiences and offering his opinions. And what does he gets for his time and effort? Responses like this which are so divorced from reality and facts that they are exactly what causes many to write off people who support EVs as wingnuts. IOW just because you don't think the Leaf is right for you doesn't mean that you don't like EVs, and it certainly doesn't mean that you are invested in continuing to actively support the continued dependency of transportation on oil.

Here would be my question to you. If owning an EV is the litmus test for wanting to move off dependency on oil, how many EVs have you owned? He's owned two. Assuming you have owned less than two, does this mean that you have given "little thought of their other products ... as though we were't importing over 1/2 of our oil from countries that want to destroy us".

 

[EVDRIVER]

Well, if we are being encouraged to comment on how the Leaf compares to our daily drivers, I'm game. The Leaf does everything better than our 08 Honda Civic Hybrid. It is far more powerful, has much better interior room, is far smoother, is very solid, is tight feeling and is almost totally silent. The steering worked well for me as I typically crank the wheel with a "single palm" and did so immediatly through the cones with the Leaf. It would be safe to say we got along at first touch. It's not perfect - I wanted more thigh support on the back of my legs. But my kids (6 & 8) loved the rear seat and floor height. My wife (5'-0") had no problem getting comfortable in the Leaf and just about set a lap record around the block according to her "co-driver". Bottom line IMHO; the Leaf is a huge upgrade to the Civic Hybrid in every way. Big thumbs up from all four of us here.

I'm not sure I would run praise comparing Leaf performance to a civic hybrid, that is quite a low materials quality car and quite underpowered, in fact my neighbor can't even climb the hill on our street in her model without a massive struggle and sometimes stopping, she takes the long route around which is not as steep. It's a steep hill but I watch many a Prius climb it all the time with ease.

 

[LEAFguy]

He's just blogging about his experiences and offering his opinions. And what does he gets for his time and effort? Responses like this which are so divorced from reality and facts...

Yes, he is just blogging about his experiences and offering his opinions. But those opinions should be based on some real-world knowledge or actual facts. For instance, this opinion:

...but the Rav4 feels safe. You’re up high, it’s not as lightweight a vehicle as a Miata or other little car, and if feels like you’d survive a collision with the thousands of SUVs careening around out there. The Leaf… not so much.

seems to imply that the LEAF is as lightweight as the Miata. The Miata comes in at around 2500 pounds. The RAV4 EV between 3400-3500 pounds. The LEAF curb weight has not been officially published yet, but some pretty simple calculations place it probably at 3400-3500 pounds.In other words, almost identical to the RAV4 EV.

But this statement:

One of the things I heard more than a few times from fellow CAB members while they were playing with the static display Volt was, “Listen to that door shut, that’s a solid car.” Well, yes. It’s heavier, more substantial construction, which is why the Leaf can eek out a hundred miles on a charge.

is just plain wrong. The LEAF can "eek out a hundred miles on a charge" because it has a significantly larger battery capacity than the Volt. The author's implication is that the Volt's "heavier, more substantial construction" (which is also an opinion, and not a statement based on fact) is the reason for its limited electric only range.

As a blogger myself, I am very aware of what I write. I'm not saying that I'm always right. But what I am saying is that when you place your words out there for all to see, many of your readers will take what you say as truth. In this instance, that is not the case.

 

[cdub]

Well, if we are being encouraged to comment on how the Leaf compares to our daily drivers, I'm game. The Leaf does everything better than our 08 Honda Civic Hybrid. It is far more powerful, has much better interior room, is far smoother, is very solid, is tight feeling and is almost totally silent. The steering worked well for me as I typically crank the wheel with a "single palm" and did so immediatly through the cones with the Leaf. It would be safe to say we got along at first touch. It's not perfect - I wanted more thigh support on the back of my legs. But my kids (6 & 8) loved the rear seat and floor height. My wife (5'-0") had no problem getting comfortable in the Leaf and just about set a lap record around the block according to her "co-driver". Bottom line IMHO; the Leaf is a huge upgrade to the Civic Hybrid in every way. Big thumbs up from all four of us here.

I'm not sure I would run praise comparing Leaf performance to a civic hybrid, that is quite a low materials quality car and quite underpowered, in fact my neighbor can't even climb the hill on our street in her model without a massive struggle and sometimes stopping, she takes the long route around which is not as steep. It's a steep hill but I watch many a Prius climb it all the time with ease.

I love the interior of my Civic. Beats the pants off of the Prius in my opinion... but yes.. the Civic blows at going up hills if the battery is low. I always find myself saying "Come on! Bessie! You can do it!"

 

[evnow]

Compared to Voltage (which Chelsea thought was not as much a Volt fan site as gm-volt) Lyle's gm-volt.com review of Leaf is quite objective.

http://gm-volt.com/2010/10/04/nissan-leaf-test-drive-and-review-wvideo/

Interestingly he doesn't have a single comparison to Volt (in terms of driving).

 

[Jimmydreams]

You can get a hood strut for under $20

You can. But people want different things.....the hood struts (2 of them) on my Explorer were failing to the point that I had to use my own hood-rod consisting of a 2x2 piece of wood to keep the hood from slamming on the back of my head.

Yeah, hood rods are old-school, but they work, all the time, every time. Hood struts...not so much.

 

[TomT]

Must be those Ford struts. In all the cars I've had over the years I have yet to have even one of them ever go bad, either hood or trunk/hatch...
Regardless, I still think they yell econobox...

Tom


[/quote]
You can. But people want different things.....the hood struts (2 of them) on my Explorer were failing to the point that I had to use my own hood-rod consisting of a 2x2 piece of wood to keep the hood from slamming on the back of my head.

Yeah, hood rods are old-school, but they work, all the time, every time. Hood struts...not so much. [/quote]

 

[cdub]

What the heck is wrong with how the hood stays up? Seems like some serious nitpicking here... especially for a car that you'll hardly ever even have to look under there.

I'm not buying this car for how the hood opens. Geesh.

 

[TomT]

Because EVERYONE who sees the car is going to immediately want to look under the hood. And when it comes to quality, perception IS reality...

Tom

What the heck is wrong with how the hood stays up? Seems like some serious nitpicking here... especially for a car that you'll hardly ever even have to look under there.

I'm not buying this car for how the hood opens. Geesh.

 

[cdub]

Still don't get what the big deal is... sorry.

 

[evnow]

You can. But people want different things.....the hood struts (2 of them) on my Explorer were failing to the point that I had to use my own hood-rod consisting of a 2x2 piece of wood to keep the hood from slamming on the back of my head.

Yeah, hood rods are old-school, but they work, all the time, every time. Hood struts...not so much.

Same here with my Maxima. Struts failed a few years back. I didn't get them replaced- I use a 2x2 if I need to keep it open.

 

[derkraut]

What the heck is wrong with how the hood stays up? Seems like some serious nitpicking here... especially for a car that you'll hardly ever even have to look under there.

I'm not buying this car for how the hood opens. Geesh.

I agree! :roll:

 

[TomT]

Did anyone happen to note if the navigation or audio system has voice command capability? I forgot to check for that.

Tom

 

[LEAFfan]

Did anyone happen to note if the navigation or audio system has voice command capability? I forgot to check for that.

Tom

The nav system does for sure, not sure about the audio system.